


Just The Way Things Are

by LMDrums



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Arc Reactor, Arc Reactor Issues, Chronic Pain, Hurt Tony Stark, Medicine, Pain, Physical Therapy, Protective Peter Parker, Relationship Problems, Sick Tony Stark, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-09-14 16:57:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16916739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMDrums/pseuds/LMDrums
Summary: Tony lives through the pain of his arc reactor every day. Some days its a little too much to bear, but he can't let anyone know that. He is a Stark after all. It works out, for the most part, he just halls up in the lab; however, his self-destructive nature gets shaken when a little spider kid finds him on a bad day.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Avengers/Iron Man fanfic! Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you liked it in a comment or kudos! It makes me feel extremely happy to see my work enjoyed! Thanks for reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first Avengers/Iron Man fanfic! Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you liked it in a comment or kudos! It makes me feel extremely happy to see my work enjoyed! Thanks for reading!

Tony opened his eyes on what should have been a beautiful Saturday morning. Just twelve hours previously, his weather app had told him that it was supposed to be 60 degrees, sunny, and a zero percent chance of rain. Boy were they wrong.

Moving as little as possible, he peered out the window. Dark clouds filled the sky and the sound of raindrops hitting the roof rattled in his head. He groaned. When it rained he could feel every shift in his body, every time the reactor moved, every time the reactor grinded against his ribs. The ache was unbearable.

“Hey J, what time is it?” Tony inquired.

“It is currently 11:38 am, Sir,” JARVIS informed.

With that, Tony sat up abruptly. He had told Peter he would pick him up at 12:00 pm and bring him back to his lab. He promised a day of fun. He had made the offer before he was aware of the raging storm that awaited to cause him so much pain.

His chest greatly resented the movement as the ache crescendoed enough to make him cry out. He broke. He felt a tear run down his face. There was no way he was going to be able to fool Peter into thinking he was okay.

He wiped away the rogue tear and stood up. Every muscle in his body fought him. He knew he should call Peter and tell him that he wasn’t feeling up to the whole bonding day. Peter would understand; he was a sweet kid.

He couldn’t do that and he knew it. He couldn’t disappoint the kid. After everything that happened, he didn’t want another thing to worry Peter.

He slowly made his way down the hall to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. His eyes were puffy and his hair was a mess. He reached up to tame his wild locks. He hissed in pain and regret as the muscles in his chest were stretched, and he dropped his hands back down to his sides in defeat. He resorted to a shower despite knowing he would be late picking up Peter.

“JARVIS, please tell Peter that I will be a little late picking him up. Tell him I got a late start to the day.”

“Certainly Sir,” Jarvis replied.

Tony opened the door to the shower and stepped in. He shivered violently until the warm water soothed his aching and chilled body. After ten minutes, he felt content with himself and stepped back out with regret. The ache came back and he looked into the mirror.

He saw the angry scars that surrounded the reactor. The marks he knew would never go away. It hurt. He would never admit it to anyone, but it hurt. It hurt more than anyone could imagine, but he kept on going. He refused to let a hole in his body define his life.

He looked down from the mirror and put on a Metallica shirt and some jeans. His hair still looked horrible. He dried it with a towel causing him significant pain, but he was past the point of caring. He just wanted to get out of the house so he could be done with his self-loathing.

Trudging downstairs and into one of his sports cars, he watched the rain fall down onto his windshield. His breathing was shallow as he couldn’t bear to jar the reactor anymore than he had to. The pain was traveling up into his shoulders and down his back. Chronic pain was no doubt the word that described him best, but he would never admit that. He was Tony Stark. He couldn’t have chronic pain. He was Iron Man.

Pushing aside his thoughts, he pulled out of the tower, thankful that none of the Avengers were home to see him in his weakened state. He drove down the familiar roads all the way to Peter’s apartment building. There he was greeted by a way too eager Peter Parker.

Peter hopped into the passenger seat of the car and immediately began rambling about how excited he was and all the things he wanted to do. Tony was thankful that the kid was filling the airspace so he didn’t have to. Even talking hurt at this point.

Peter talked through the entirety of the ride back to the tower and Tony parked the car in the garage. After Peter finished his extensive speech, he turned to Tony who had been giving him generic responses through the whole ride. It only then did Peter take in his mentor’s disheveled appearance. His hair was a disaster, he didn’t have on his usual sports coat or his thousand dollar shoes. The man in front of him was tired. Peter looked into his eyes and saw how hard it was for Tony to keep them from closing.

Peter had known Tony long enough to know that Tony didn’t like getting sick and he didn’t like admitting it when he did; however, Peter felt it was his duty to take care of Tony. He wanted Tony to know it was okay to be sick and ask for help.

“Mr. Stark, I know you are sick. I can see it in your eyes,” the teen stated.

“I’m not sick Peter. I promise.” He wasn’t lying. He wasn’t sick, at least not in the traditional sense of the word.

Peter knew not to press his luck with the man. Tony wasn’t usually too talkative or patient when he wasn’t feeling well.

“Okay, whatever you say, but if you fall asleep I get to take care of you,” Peter smiled.

“Whatever, Kid.” Tony didn’t even know what Peter said because he was too focused on massaging around the arc.

Tony opened his door and stood up a little too quickly. The muscles in his chest pulled at the reactor and he nearly fell to the ground. It hurt so bad. He didn’t understand why the universe hated him. What had he done that was deserving of this kind of pain?

He stiffly straightened his back and groaned when his ribs, or what was left of his ribs after the arc surgery, were forced back into position. Apparently, he groaned a little too loud because Peter was quick to notice. He turned to face his mentor, but Tony wouldn’t meet his eyes. Instead, he slumped his shoulders because it hurt less that way, and started the journey back inside.

Peter gave up after several more attempts to get Tony to admit he was sick. Each time the man declined the accusation. Peter knew something was wrong. He made one more attempt after a long pause of silence.

“Mr. Stark, I mean Tony, uh… something is wrong… and I know you don’t want to… to talk about it… but I think you should… should uh… tell me… or someone…” Peter stammered.

Tony took a long and solemn breath. He considered confiding in the teen and telling him about how he contemplated staying in bed and burying himself in blankets for the rest of the day because he couldn’t even sit up out of bed without his chest feeling like an elephant was sitting on it and he was getting shot with an arrow at the same time. He wanted to tell someone besides Pepper how much he hated living. How much he hated waking up once a week nearly incapacitated. How much he hated living with a chunk of metal where his ribs and sternum should be. He opened his mouth, the words begging to come out.  
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t admit that the mighty Iron Man had chronic pain. The kid looked up to him, he couldn’t destroy the perception that he was actually strong. The kid needed a strong male role model, not some guy who couldn’t get out of bed without tears.

“Peter, I’m fine… please stop asking me.”

“Prove to me that you are okay, and I’ll stop asking,” Peter challenged.

“Wanna go box a couple rounds? If I beat you, you can’t ask me again,” Tony reasoned.

“It’s on, Tony.” Peter was glad the man was actually up for physical activity. 

Maybe Tony was just tired and fell asleep in a chair last night and woke up with a stiff back. Maybe he was overreacting.

The two went down the boxing ring in the gym to get ready. Tony slipped on a pair of shorts and put on his gloves. Just then, a wave of pain drowned Tony. He grabbed at his chest as if he could do anything to stop it. Thankfully, the kid was too busy putting on his gloves to notice. He turned to face Tony forcing the older man to perk up. He winced slightly but forced himself to remain neutral.

Tony knew this was a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More chapters to come! Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 2

The two got into the ring and began to circle each other. Peter threw some light punches, nothing too serious because he still wasn’t convinced of Tony’s wellbeing. Tony threw one punch with his right hand and felt the strain in his chest that almost made him stop breathing. He couldn’t stop the tear from running down his face, but Peter didn’t notice. 

His body ached. His chest, his shoulders, his back, but mostly around the damn reactor. It felt raw, each movement chafed his skin just a little more. Each movement made the ache just a little deeper. He fought through, he had to prove he was okay. 

His world stopped. His mind registered a level of pain he had never felt before. Peter had landed a punch square on his reactor. 

He fell to his knees and then onto the ground. He lay there. He cried. He ached. He writhed. 

“Tony! Oh my gosh… Tony…” Peter ran to the man. He rolled him over so his back was against the mats. 

Tony reached up to his chest and gently massaged the scar tissue and mangled muscle beneath his skin that surrounded the metal cylinder. Between sobs, he struggled to remain breathing. 

After ten minutes of the dreadful situation, Tony decided that enough was enough. He was surely overreacting. It couldn’t hurt that bad. How could a giant chunk of metal be forced through his heart and rebounding in a mass of scar tissue hurt that bad? 

He waved Peter away. The boy was confused; he knew that Tony’s arc sat in his chest, but he had no clue it cause him pain or would be dangerous. 

Tony stood up with a stern face. At this point, he was numb. No movement could increase the fire he felt in his chest. 

“Peter, I need you to go home.” Tony’s heart broke. 

He knew that the kid had no idea why Tony reacted so seriously and that sending him home would make Peter feel bad for the rest of the day, maybe even week. He just couldn’t continue on. He needed to lay down and cover his aching chest with a hot pad before it got worse if that were possible. 

“No,” Peter replied tentatively, “I get to know what the hell just happened. I get to know why you just fell to the ground in tears. I get to know why you looked like you were on the verge of death when you picked me up.” 

“Peter, I can’t talk anymore. I hurt. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? That I am in pain? That I have chronic pain?” 

Tony couldn’t even look at the kid. He left the room and went to his lab. He laid down on the couch and turned on the heating pad he kept close by. He popped a prescription pill of Vicodin that he vowed he wouldn’t take unless he really, really need it. He couldn’t keep consciousness, and soon after his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep. 

Peter sat down inside the ring. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend what just happened. The man he thought was the coolest person he had ever met dealt with chronic pain. In Peter’s mind, that only increased his status. If he could be a superhero and go through his life feeling constant pain and discomfort, then Tony was easily the strongest person he had ever known. 

Peter crept into the lab when he saw Tony asleep on the small couch in the corner. He looked dreadfully uncomfortable, but there was nothing Peter could do about it. On the side table, Peter found a small orange bottle that contained a Vicodin prescription for Tony. Curious, he opened the lid to find an almost full bottle. He sighed. 

It was evident that Tony was tough. He probably convinced himself that he didn’t need medicine, that he would be okay with natural pain relief. Knowing that Tony had resorted to pain pills, Peter understood what he did to Tony. He pushed him over the edge. His one simple strike left the man on the verge of collapse. 

It dawned on Peter why Tony did so many of the things that he did. He drank a lot. It probably numbed him. He avoided boxing for the most part. It probably protected him from the type of disaster that occurred today. He slouched a lot. It probably just felt easier than keeping his spine straight with the metal weighing him down. He never went outside or let Peter come over when it was raining. It was probably because he felt worse on days like this. 

Just a couple hours later, Tony began to stir. He was sweating a lot, probably running a fever as his body struggled to combat the pain. He pulled his shirt off and drifted back off to sleep. 

Peter watched as the man awoke abruptly and pulled his shirt off with a slight grimace. After he was sure Tony fell back asleep, he walked over to the older man and studied his chest. In the middle was a bright blue light encased in a metal cylinder. Peter wondered how deep the arc reactor really went, how much it really disrupted Tony’s anatomy. He saw the surrounding skin of the reactor. It looked red and angry. It was mixed with scars that Peter knew would never go away or fade.

What made Peter’s heart sink was when he saw the black and purple bruise that was beginning for form around the entire reactor. He knew it was from his punch. He knew that Tony would look at it for weeks knowing that Peter put him through more agony than he had already been struggling with. 

Peter began to cry. How could he have done this? 

“Hey, Pete…” Tony’s eyes cracked open enough to see the boy in distress. 

“Tony, I’m so sorry. I saw your chest and the reactor and there is a bruise and it's from me and I didn’t mean it and I know I hurt you and I know you’re mad and--” 

“Peter. I know you are upset. I want you to understand that I am in a remarkable amount of pain, but I was already in most of it. You had no idea that I had chronic pain. You had no idea that the reason I looked so horrible was because my chest was aching.” 

Tony was desperately trying to reason with the boy. 

“But… but I hurt you…”

“I was already hurt, Pete,” Tony reasoned. 

“I just… I didn’t know… you took pills…” Peter was distraught. 

“Yeah, yeah I did. I did because I’m weak, not because of anything you did,” Tony’s voice cracked. 

“You aren’t weak, Tony. You did it because I made your pain worse and you couldn’t take it anymore…” his voice trailed off, “I think I should go home and let you rest…” 

“Pete, don’t be silly. I overreacted earlier. I want, no, I need you to stay,” Tony almost pulled off a smile, “Now I’m going to go back to sleep, and when I wake up, we are going to talk about some things. Not because I’m mad at you, but because I care about you and I want you to understand.” 

With that, Tony’s head fell back into the pillow and he drifted once again trying to escape the aching nightmare.


	3. Chapter 3

Once again, about two hours later, Tony’s eyes cracked open to look around the lab. Peter was still sitting on the chair right next to him staring at his chest.

“Jeez Pete, you are going to give me a heart attack,” Tony jumped. Only when you jump with an arc reactor in your chest, it hurts… a lot. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. 

“Mr. Stark… or uh Tony…. I didn’t mean to scare you! Are you okay?” Peter was frantic. 

“I’m fine, it was just a figure of speech,” Tony laughed a little, “give me a couple minutes to compose myself and then we can talk.” Tony walked out of the lab slowly and kept his arms crossed over his chest as if he was giving himself a hug. 

He finally reached the bathroom where he was thankful that he found his clothes from a couple nights ago laying on the floor. He put on some old sweatpants and a t-shirt. He winced as the fabric was dragged over the arc, he couldn’t believe he could be this weak. It was a shirt, and he was Iron Man. That shouldn’t be a problem. His self-hatred grew. 

He walked back to Peter looking much better than he did just ten minutes earlier, but Peter knew that was just because of the clothes. Nothing in his eyes had changed. He was carrying two mugs of coffee in his hands and set them down on the table between him and the boy. He picked up the Vicodin bottle and stared at the label. Did he really need it? He swallowed his pride, opened the lid, and slid out one pill. He downed it with the coffee. Yes, he really did need it. He was done lying to himself. 

Peter hung his head when the older man popped the pill. He knew it was his fault that he had resorted to taking the medicine, and he knew Tony wouldn’t have taken before today’s incident. 

“Tony, I just... “ Peter began mumbling.

“I know, Peter. Its okay,” Tony held up the orange bottle, “I have had these since I got the reactor, but I’ve never taken any until today.” 

“And it's my fault you had to!” Peter cried out. 

“No Pete, I had to because I finally had to admit to myself that I’m not strong enough to do this alone. You showed me that.” Tony stared at the ground hoping Peter would reply. 

“Why didn’t you tell me…” Peter’s voice trailed off. 

“I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want you to look at me differently,” Tony’s heart broke. 

“Yeah, I would look at you differently Tony. If I knew you dealt with severe pain on a daily basis and still pulled off being Iron Man, I would have thought you were a lot cooler,” Peter smiled. 

Tony smiled too. He subconsciously reached up to massage the skin around the reactor. He was met by a flash of pain as his fingers sunk into the bruising. 

“Damn,” Tony cursed. Peter looked up to his mentor with his heart sinking because he knew it was his fault. 

“I’m fine Peter.” 

“You aren’t fine.”

“Well, at least you care,” Tony commented bitterly, “not a single person who lives in this tower has ever even asked me if it hurt.” 

“Don’t you think they should know?” Peter inquired. 

“Why? So they can think less of me? So they can baby me when we are in the gym?” 

“Wouldn’t your life be easier if they accommodated your limitations?”

“I don’t have limitations.”

“Lift your arms above your head,” Peter challenged. 

Tony knew what the kid was trying to do. Obviously show Tony that he couldn’t do it, that he needed help. Tony couldn’t let himself be manipulated, but he surrendered. 

“I don’t want to, it will hurt,” Tony admitted.

“I know it will, so now I will never ask you to get anything off the top shelf for me. Think about all the pain you could save yourself if the Avengers knew that certain things hurt you.” Peter was proud of himself, he finally got something right in conversation. 

“How am I supposed to tell them?” Tony knew Peter was right, whether he would admit it or not. 

“I don’t know. That’s for you to figure out,” Peter looked into Tony’s eyes. He still saw a man who couldn’t sit up straight, a man who didn’t sleep at night, a man who resented living. There was something else in his eyes though, something that made Peter smile. He saw hope.

LATER THAT WEEK

“Hey Cap,” Tony greeted as he walked into the kitchen. It had been three days since the incident with Peter, but he still wasn’t feeling great. He had bags under his eyes from the past two sleepless nights because he couldn’t bear to lay down on either side without the ache worsening. 

“Hey Tony,” Steve immediately noticed that something was off. Tony looked worn down. Even more than usual from his sleepless nights. 

“What’s for breakfast?” Tony wasn’t all the hungry, but he needed food to take his medicine with. He sat down at the bar next to the captain waiting for a response. 

“Do you have chronic pain, Tony?” Steve couldn’t believe he finally said it. He had been putting the pieces together over the last year, and today he could just see it in his eyes. He knew. 

Tony was speechless. That was the first time anyone had asked him if he was in pain. He didn’t know what to say. 

“Tony,” Steve spoke again which startled Tony out of his deep thoughts. He jumped a bit, making him wince. 

“Uh no,” Tony knew that Steve already figured it out. 

“What is the pill for then?” Steve gestured to the capsule Tony was holding in his fist. 

Tony didn’t know what to say. His emotions were all over. He thought about the things Peter said, about asking for help. 

“Yes.” Tony finally admitted out loud. 

“Yes, you have chronic pain?”

“Yes, Steve. And it's a Vicodin pill,” Tony admitted. 

“Tony, why didn’t you tell me?” 

“It doesn’t matter why I didn’t tell you. You can’t do anything about it anyway.”

“I can make your life easier,” Steve replied with promise. 

Tony didn’t know what to say. He knew that Steve could make his life easier. He could make sure no one hugged him because those just pressed on the reactor in just the right way to make his breathing hitch. He could make sure no one punched him in the chest during boxing. There was so much promise to just admitting that he was in pain and letting Steve help. He knew it was stupid that he didn’t tell him earlier. 

“Okay,” Tony replied dryly.

For once in his life, Tony was ready to accept help. He was ready to be done with walking on thin ice every day of his life. He was done with avoiding hugs, boxing, and he was definitely done avoiding training that involved push-ups. 

Steve smiled. He never thought it would be this easy to get Tony to admit to him that he needed help. Peter had tipped Steve off yesterday about Tony’s condition, but Steve had already figured out what was going on. He figured it would be easier to get Tony to accept help if he already told Peter about it. That meant he was expanding his boundaries. 

“Let’s get everyone together and talk about it,” Steve met Tony’s eyes. 

“Okay.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a short chapter, but hope you still enjoy! Next chapter will focus on Peter and Tony again!

Tony felt broken. He admitted to his team leader that he couldn’t even deal with the pain in his own body. He wanted to take it back, he wanted to go sit in the lab and work himself to death just to forget the pain. (Although that usually only made it worse.) It was too late, though. He forced himself onto his feet and slowly made his way into the living room. Steve followed.

“What am I supposed to say?” Tony couldn’t meet Steve’s eyes.

“Nothing. That’s why I’m here,” Steve grinned.

The Avengers started to file into the living room one at a time. Each looked annoyed due to the impromptu meeting. By the time everyone had made it into the room, Tony was half-asleep with his hands covering the reactor.

“Why are we here, Steve?” Natasha initiated impatiently.

“Yeah, it's not fair to interrupt our day off. Tony’s not even awake!” Clint continued to then kick Tony’s legs that were resting up on the coffee table supporting his entire body.

Tony was oblivious to the entire confrontation until he felt a pull on his back as his feet fell to the ground. White hot pain flashed through his body. He opened his eyes immediately causing the tears pooling up to run down his face. His heart stopped. He was crying in front of the Avengers. He got up and realigned his back and ribs and proceeded to retreat to his room upstairs.

“Tony… “ Steve felt horrible. He dragged Tony into talking about his pain, and before he even got out a word, it got worse.

“What’s his problem?” Clint complained.

“Sit down.” Steve was furious, “I’ll tell you what the problem is. Tony has been dealing with pain for years. The reactor makes his chest, back, and shoulders hurt a lot,” Steve was practically yelling, “None of you ever noticed. He can’t even get out of bed without pain.”

The Avengers stayed silent. None of them had ever considered that Stark was in pain; however, their thoughts were once again interrupted by Steve.

“He fights just like the rest of us, and he fights through the pain. We can make his life easier. He doesn’t need us to make his chronic pain worse.” Steve's voice was trailing off.

After plenty of questions and analyzing Tony’s past behavior and reactions, they made a mental list of things to avoid. This list included the following avoidances: hugging, back pats, aggressive boxing, throwing objects at him when he wasn’t paying attention, and many more.

There was just one question that was yet to be answered: did Tony have medicine he should be taking. Steve had to convince Jarvis to release Tony’s medical files which brought surprise to everyone.

Tony had taken years of physical therapy, but he had just recently stopped a couple weeks prior. He had also only filled his prescription for Vicodin once. That sent the Avengers on a hunt through the house to find the bottle. Luckily they searched the lab first were the orange bottle was left on a table from when Peter hurt Tony. Bruce ran upstairs with the bottle to the rest of the Avengers.

“Hey guys, I found it. Looks like he has only taken a couple pills since he filled it several years ago,” Bruce informed.

Bruce’s mind finally came into clarity. He thought maybe he knew what was happening to Tony. Since he stopped physical therapy, his pain had gotten a lot worse. Apparently, to the point that both Steve and Peter had noticed and said something. He probably starting taking pills to suppress the immense pain that came flooding back.

Just then, the doorbell rang and JARVIS informed the Avengers that it was Peter. Steve opened the door.

“Hey guys, do you know where Mr. Stark is?” Peter was obviously anxious. His voice was uneven and his hands were shaking.

“It's probably not a good time, Peter. He isn’t feeling very good,” Steve replied.  
“Yeah, I know. He texted me and asked me to come over,” Peter said quietly.

Steve nodded in understanding. Obviously, if he was in serious pain, he would ask the only person who really knew about it to come over.

“He is upstairs in his room.” Steve handed him the pill bottle and a glass of water from the kitchen and sent Peter on his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments are awesome, so this chapter came early. Thank you so much for the continued support. Chapter six coming this weekend.

Tony lay flat on his back atop his king-sized bed. Laying on one side put too much pressure on his shoulders. Laying on his stomach made the ache deepen. Laying on his back made his spine straight and decreased most of the pressure, but it still hurt; nonetheless, it hurt less than the other positions. 

His mind was flooded with the remembrance of what had just happened downstairs. He humiliated himself. He was already emotionally preparing himself to be kicked off the Avengers because he was a liability. He hungered for another pill, but he couldn’t force himself out of the bed and down the stairs, nor could he face the Avengers after what happened. 

Looking over to his side table, he spotted a bottle of Advil. He knew it would do nothing to dull the pain, but maybe if he took more than the bottle said, it would do something. He picked up the bottle and poured out five pills. After dry swallowing each, he started to feel sick. He hadn’t eaten anything in a while. 

Rushing to the toilet, he expelled what remained in his stomach which mostly consisted of acid and the pills he had just taken. Each time he dry heaved felt like a bullet in the chest. His chest pulled, his back arched, he started to feel the ache up into his neck. He couldn’t live like this anymore. 

He couldn’t will himself off the floor in the bathroom, so he made himself “comfortable.” This consisted of curling up around the arc reactor in a desperate attempt to relieve pressure and pain. He sobbed.

“Tony, are you okay,” Peter’s soft voice entered the bedroom. It got louder as he reached the master bath, “Oh my gosh, Tony! Why are you on the floor?”

“Hurts.” It was barely audible. 

“You can’t just lay on the ground. It will make you feel worse.” 

“I can’t get up, Peter. It hurts too much.” His voice was hoarse between the sobs. 

“It will hurt later if you stay here.” 

“What if I don’t care about later.” Tony’s voice cracked.

“You will care when later is now,” Peter reasoned. 

“I can’t move.” He wasn’t lying. 

“Let me help you.” 

“I don’t need help. I’m fine here.”

“You texted me to come here, I’m going to help you. I even brought pills, you can have one if you get in bed.” Peter bargained. 

Peter made his way to the genius in the darkness. The arc reactor let out a soft blue light that guided his path. 

Peter slowly helped the older man to his feet and steadied him. Practically supporting all of his weight, Peter shuffled over to the bed and helped Tony lay down. 

“Thanks, kid. Pill?” Tony’s forehead was scrunched up in pain. 

Peter handed him the glass and one pill hoping that it would take the edge off. Tony swallowed it quickly and closed his eyes. 

“You don’t have to stay here, Peter. I know you have a lot of school work to do.” 

Peter was glad that Tony was showing signs of rational thinking. Seeing him so broken in the bathroom scared Peter. 

“I’m going to stay here tonight. I already told Aunt May, and she said I could skip school tomorrow. It’s an early release day anyway,” Peter reasoned. 

Tony smirked maybe even smiled, “Good, it’s nice having you around.” 

“I’m gonna let you sleep. You need it.” Peter pulled a blanket over the man and crept out of the door.

Peter arrived downstairs where the other Avengers were talking in the living room. 

“Hey guys,” Peter said to announce his arrival. 

“Hey Peter,” Steve was the first to acknowledge his presence. 

“Peter, can I talk to you?” Bruce asked. 

“Sure…” Peter replied, clearly confused. 

Bruce and Peter walked into the elevator and rode all the way down to Bruce’s lab. There they sat down on the little couch that resided in the corner. Peter was actually nervous. He thought that he might have overstepped in the Tony situation. 

“So about Tony… “ Bruce started, “do you know why his pain has been so much worse lately? If anyone knows, its you.” 

Peter’s heart dropped. He knew that he hurt Tony when they boxed, but he didn’t know it would escalate so dramatically. 

“Well we were boxing the other day, and uh… he… I hit him… in the chest,” Peter’s voice cracked, “... and he fell to the ground… he had to take pills… it’s my fault.” Peter started to cry. 

“Peter, it’s okay. It’s not your fau--” 

“Yes, it is! You don’t understand. He was in so much pain,” Peter started crying. 

Bruce pulled him into an awkward hug. Peter calmed down after a couple minutes or so and pulled away. He wiped his eyes and took some deep breaths. 

“Peter, Tony stopped going to physical therapy.” Bruce met his eyes. 

“I didn’t know he ever went,” Peter replied. 

“From the medical records I saw, it looked like he went Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2:00 pm.” 

“That makes sense. He always told me to come later on those days, I just figured he always had meetings,” Peter replied in understanding, “I don’t know why he stopped.”

“I don’t know either, but I think you need to find out. I think that after he stopped, his handle on the pain went out the window. He is consumed by it now.” Bruce answered. 

“Okay, I’ll try to ask him,” Peter confirmed. 

There was a knock on the door and both Peter and Bruce turned. Steve walked in looking concerned. Peter looked emotionally drained and Bruce just looked confused. 

“I need to know what’s happening with Tony. I am the leader of this team.” Steve began. 

“Steve, he stopped physical therapy,” Bruce sighed, “His pain has gotten a lot worse now.” 

“Oh,” Steve was speechless, “Do we know why?” 

“No,” Peter and Bruce said almost in unison. 

Bruce continued, “I asked Peter to try to find out.” 

Steve agreed that Bruce’s plan was the best course of action. Tony was stubborn, but with Peter, he was more relaxed. 

“Good idea, we need to get him back into some kind of rehab,” Steve concluded. 

They were determined to get Tony back on his feet; they just needed to understand why he stopped.


	6. Chapter 6

Peter stayed the night in the Avenger’s tower and thankfully Tony slept through the night. The next day, Tony felt a minuscule of a percent better, so he decided to try and get something done. Each one of his movements through the tower hurt, but he made it down to his lab without anyone seeing him.

When he reached the lab, he found Peter asleep on his couch. In fear of scaring the boy, Tony gently woke him up by shaking his shoulder.

“Hey, Tony,” Peter said groggily.

“Hey, Pete. Why are you sleeping down here? There are tons of beds upstairs.” Tony inquired.

“I was waiting for you to wake up,” Peter smiled, “I wanted to talk to you.”

“About?”

“Physical therapy,” Peter’s smile faded.

“Are you stalking me?” Tony seemed annoyed.

Peter thought it would be best to avoid blame on him if he was going to get anything out of Tony, “Bruce told me.”

“So Bruce is stalking me.” It wasn’t a question, it was an observation.

“Uh yeah I guess…” Peter felt awkward, but he continued on, “Why did you stop going?”

“I’m not gonna get out of this am I?” Tony let his guard down for a moment. On the other hand, he could just make up something, but he didn’t want to lie to the Kid, “You are just going to go tell Bruce.”

“I don’t have to. If we can figure it out, Bruce doesn’t have to get involved.” Peter compromised.

“Okay.” Tony agreed tentatively.

“Talk to me, Tony. Why did you stop?”

“It’s a long story.” Tony avoided his question.

“I have time.”

“It’s complicated. I didn’t like going.”

“But it helped you.” Peter reasoned.

“They hurt me,” Tony looked down at the ground, “They didn’t understand.”

“They didn’t understand what?”

“How much it hurt. They didn’t know what it felt like to have metal in your sternum. They pushed me too hard. The appointments made the pain worse.”

“I thought you had it under control?” Peter was confused.

“I made the exercises easier when I did them myself. They didn’t understand that my ribcage doesn’t move as normal people do.”

“So you stopped going because you felt bad during appointments?”

“I don’t think bad is the right word. Try practically physically incapacitated.”

“So that’s the reason?” Peter was happy that he got an answer.

Tony didn’t lie to him, he just didn’t tell him the whole truth. There was more, “I uh… used to get through appointments because uh…” Tony felt exposed, “nevermind.”

“No Tony. Tell me.” Peter was stern.

“Pepper used to go with me. She would practically drag me home. I couldn’t move afterward.” He could feel tears start running down his face, but he quickly wiped them away.

“Why did she stop going?” Peter was confused.

“We are taking a break,” Tony answered solemnly.

Peter felt horrible. He couldn’t comprehend what Tony was going through. He couldn’t face the pain of physical therapy without Pepper, but he couldn’t face the pain of his life without physical therapy.

“Oh,” Peter acknowledged, “I uh didn’t know. I’m sorry Tony.”

“It’s okay,” Tony sighed, “she didn’t deserve the emotional strain. She saw me at my worst.”

“Maybe she will change her mind,” Peter said hopefully.

“I broke up with her,” Tony admitted.

Peter was shocked. Those two were clearly in love. They needed each other. Tony was about to self-destruct without her.

Peter needed to change the subject, “So if you had a therapist who understood your situation and made adjustments to treatment, you would go?”

“I guess,” Tony wasn’t completely committed to the idea, but he couldn’t live like this anymore. Without the strengthening of his core and shoulders, his pain was getting worse.

“Okay,” Peter replied.

“Okay?”

“Here’s what we are going to do. I need to tell Bruce an edited version of this conversation. Then, we are going to get you back on track. You need to get back on top of physical therapy, Tony. You look horrible, you feel horrible, and I can’t see you like this anymore.” Peter was firm.

“Okay,” Tony replied.

“Okay?” Peter wasn’t expecting this to go so smoothly.

“Yes, okay.” Tony was glad that he was done hiding.

Tony pulled Peter into a hug, careful not to strain his chest any more than was necessary. They stayed like that for a long time.

After the emotional encounter, Tony needed some time alone. Luckily, Peter left him to his lab and suits. For the first time that week, Tony felt hope.

Peter made his way back upstairs and went over to Bruce. He was running the coming conversation in his head careful not to reveal anything that Tony wouldn’t want Bruce to know.

“Hey Bruce,” Peter announced his presence behind the man who was sitting at the bar in the kitchen.

“Hey Peter,” Bruce replied, “let’s go talk outside.”

The two walked around the tower to the balcony.

“Did he talk to you?” Bruce was curious.

“Yeah he did,” Peter started, “he had a lot to say.”

“That’s a good thing.” Bruce tried to make the subject less edgy.

“He said that the physical therapist he went to didn’t understand his limitations. He said that they pushed him too far,” Peter started, “He said that it was too painful during appointments.”

Bruce nodded in understanding. It made sense. What doctor would truly understand the extreme nature of Tony’s anatomy? Anything that involved bending his core would be extremely painful.

“That makes sense,” Bruce confirmed, “was he willing to try again with a different doctor?”

“Yeah, he was,” Peter answered, “I think that person should be you.”

Bruce smiled, “Why would he want me? He is super private about his body. I doubt he would want me aware of his problems.”

“I think he would appreciate someone who was aware of his restricted movement,” Peter replied with a grin.

“Okay,” Bruce said hesitantly. 

Maybe Tony did need him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments! Please let me know what you think of the story. Also, if you have any requests with Tony in a similar context (sick, hurt, etc.), let me know!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week has been crazy with finals and Christmas! Sorry for the lack of updates, but now I am on break until the 7th of January so prepare for the ending chapters of this fic and the beginning of others!

Bruce gave Tony a couple days to write out his limitations, and Tony actually followed his directions. Bruce received an extremely long email explaining his anatomy including doctor files. Bruce opened the attached files in awe. They included x-rays, doctor reports, and pain logs that Tony wrote out dating back several years.

It took days for Bruce to look through all of the documents and reports; however, it was easy to see that Tony’s life sucked. Every single file depicted a man in great pain with little hope.

The extensive research was helpful, but Bruce needed to see the real thing. He called Tony down to his lab.

“Hey Tony,” Bruce greeted looking a little too eager.

“Do you want to poke me or something?” Tony wasn’t buying Bruce’s facade.

“Well I… I need to see it, Tony.” Bruce motioned to the table he had set up for Tony to sit on.

Tony slumped his shoulders. He had hoped that sending Bruce all of his research would allow him to avoid a real-life exam. He slowly walked over to the table and hopped onto it which jostled his chest. He winced.

Across the room, Bruce noted down his reaction to the movement. He walked over to Tony.

“Can you take off your shirt?” Bruce inquired.

“I don’t want to,” Tony responded. He wouldn’t meet Bruce’s eyes.

“Why?”

Tony wouldn’t answer, so Bruce repeated the question.

“Why, Tony?”

“My shoulders hurt,” Tony admitted.

“I don’t understand why--”

“Because it hurts to take it off. I’ve had this shirt on for three days,” Tony interrupted.

Bruce nodded. It must hurt pretty bad for Tony not to change clothes.

“Okay. Let me help you take it off,” Bruce reasoned.

“Please be careful,” Tony pleaded.

Bruce could see the utter distress in Tony’s eyes. He knew that he had to be careful helping Tony or he would probably leave.

Bruce pulled the sleeves of his long sleeve shirt up being cautious not to strain Tony’s shoulders too much. He eventually got the shirt over Tony’s head and both of them let out a sigh of relief.

Tony started to panic. He felt naked, exposed. He never let people see the reactor. Only a handful of people had seen it, and one of those people had tried to pull it out of his chest. He started to breathe hard, and he reached up to cover his chest.

“Its uh… not… it doesn’t look… Its kinda gross,” Tony finally spit out. He was still guarding the reactor against Bruce’s sight.

“Tony, it’s okay.” Bruce kept a calm face as he reached up to Tony’s hands and guided them down to his sides.

Bruce glanced up to meet the bright blue light. He winced as he saw the scars that surrounded the reactor and the remaining bruise that Peter had left the week before. Bruce looked into Tony’s eyes seeking permission to touch.

“I don’t have dignity left. Go for it.” Tony looked away.

Bruce felt saddened by Tony’s comment but reached up nonetheless. His fingers met the scars and the metal casing. Tony jumped a bit.

“Please uh… that…” Tony was trying to explain how badly Bruce’s feather touch hurt despite his lack of words. Bruce knew what he was trying to say and he took his hand away.

“Tony, how deep does that go?” He gestured to the casing.

“It’s fused into my sternum and ribcage if that tells you anything.”

Bruce winced. No wonder it hurt so bad. That type of modification would keep his upper body from twisting and bending as a normal person would. He probably struggled to bend his back or reach down to pick things up from the ground.

“It affects pretty much everything I do if that’s what you are thinking about,” Tony admitted.

“Yeah, I figured,” Bruce replied with sympathy, “I think that’s all I need from you.”

Tony knew he cut the exam short. None of his appointments with other doctors were under an hour. He was thankful for Bruce.

“Thanks, Bruce.” Tony smiled at him.

“Go get some rest. We are gonna start some exercises tomorrow.”

Tony nodded and pulled back on his shirt. It was easier to put on a shirt than take it off, that was something he learned over the years.

Tony made his way back up into his room and fell into the bed. He wasn’t ready to start physical therapy again, but he couldn’t make it through life without it. He was conflicted. He was tired of thinking. All he wanted was sleep.

Closing his eyes, he drifted off into dreamland; however, this was cut short by the sound of a soft voice.

“Tony…” The familiar voice trailed off.

Tony’s eyes cracked open just enough to reveal Peter who was standing over him.

“Tony… wake up…”

“I’m up,” Tony grunted.

“I brought you this,” Peter held up a heating pad, “It’s supposed to rain.”

Glancing out the window, Tony could see the darkening clouds. He covered his head with a pillow. Why did the world hate him?

“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Peter reasoned.

“It’s always bad when it rains,” Tony assured him.

“Maybe we can do something to take your mind off of it,” Peter suggested, “Do you want to watch a movie?”

Tony grinned under the pillow. That kid was going to be the death of him.

“What do you want to watch?” Tony inquired.

“Well… there is this new Mission Impossible movie,” Peter smiled.

“Isn’t that still in theatres?”

“Uh maybe…” Peter knew it was. He thought maybe he could get Tony out of the house and get his mind off his pain.

“Are you sure there isn’t another movie that’s already out?” Tony pleaded.

“We don’t have to go,” Peter looked down at his shoes. 

Peter was totally playing the older man. He didn’t care all that much if they went or not, but he was in too deep. This was the only way Tony would leave the house.

Tony looked at the boy who seemed sad. It wasn’t fair. Tony was Peter’s only male role model. He should take the kid out.

“Okay Kid. I’ll be down in a minute.” Tony sat up in the bed and scooted back against the headboard. He sat with his head in his hands for several minutes knowing full well that Peter was still watching.

“Do you want me to help you get ready?” Peter knew he was pushing his boundaries.

“No, Pete. I’m fine. Just meet me downstairs,” Tony replied. He was fine. He didn’t need help. Maybe the kid was right. He just needed some time out of the house.

Peter nodded, pleased with the response, and he walked out of Tony’s room to head downstairs.

Tony, on the other hand, sat in the bed willing himself to move. After several more minutes, he stood up. Unsteady, he grabbed the side table. His head was spinning, his back and chest ached. Everything hurt, but he made a commitment. He was gonna take Peter out to the movies.

After what seemed like an eternity, he descended the stairs. Each took way too much effort, but he was hoping no one would notice his shortness of breath.  
Peter was sitting at the bar in the kitchen waiting for him. He smiled when he saw the man reach the ground level looking more put together than he had been in weeks.

Tony was grateful that he reached the ground without passing out. He wasn’t feeling great and he was slouching more than he usually allowed himself to, but he was standing. In relation to how his week had been going, standing with the intention of leaving the house was progress.

“Let’s go,” Tony half smiled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a migraine fic in the works and other ideas. Lmk any other ideas or requests you guys have! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoy! Please comment with your feedback!


	8. Chapter 8

Just as the two made it to the car, the rain began to fall. The familiar ache increased with vengeance. His shoulders hurt, his neck hurt, his chest hurt, his back hurt, and he knew it was only going to get worse. 

Tony leaned back into the leather seat of his Audi and closed his eyes. He stretched his back and popped his neck hoping to relieve any pressure that he could. He lifted his hands up to the steering wheel only to be greeted with an angry pull in his chest. Defeated, he let his hands fall back into his lap.

“Are you sure Peter?” 

“Tom Cruise is waiting for us,” Peter smiled, “We gotta watch him save the world.”

“Peter, I don’t think it’s safe for me to drive you,” Tony reasoned, “I don’t drive in the rain usually because I get distracted by the pain.” He wasn’t lying in the slightest. 

“I can drive us,” Peter reminded, “I do have a driver’s permit.” 

Tony knew the kid was gonna get to the movie one way or another whether he had to call a cab or make Bruce drive. He caved.

“Okay, Peter. Please drive slow. This car is worth more than your apartment building,” Tony reminded him. He was actually half-serious. 

Peter successfully made it to the nearby theatre without incident. He parked as close to the doors as he could get in hopes of making it easier on Tony to get inside. 

“Thanks, Kid. You did well.” Tony was proud of Peter; he was improving as a driver. 

Peter nodded in thanks and opened his car door. He quickly ran around the car to open Tony’s. 

“Peter, I can open my own door,” Tony raised his eyebrows. 

“I know. Doesn’t mean you have to,” Peter remarked. Tony conceded. 

The two walked into the theatre at a slow pace. Tony kept his hand over the reactor all the way into the theatre as if he could keep out the cold. Cold weather and a metal casing didn’t mix well. 

Tony was obviously struggling to keep up a strong facade, but Peter wasn’t buying it. He knew the man was in pain, and he knew that he needed to sit down. He never should have drug Tony out of the house. It was manipulative and unnecessary. 

“Mr. Stark, how funny seeing you here,” a nearby man remarked. 

Peter didn’t recognize him, but he guessed it was someone from Stark Industries or a company that Tony worked with. 

Peter looked up to Tony who seemed completely drained. 

“Oh uh… Hello Mr. Culls, nice to see you,” Tony replied apathetically. 

The man looked the genius up and down. It was obvious that Stark was having trouble standing, let alone talking. 

Peter introduced himself to the man and make quick conversation to avoid any questions regarding Tony’s disheveled appearance, despite its recent improvement. 

The man eventually walked away to head back to his family who was waiting by the door.

“Peter, can you go buy the tickets?” Tony inquired while handing him his debit card.

Tony felt his chest cramping up and his back felt the familiar spasms that came with muscle use. He just wanted to go home and curl up in his bed. 

“Sure,” Peter replied. He walked over to the window where there was thankfully no line. 

In less than a couple of minutes, the two were in the theatre watching the previews for all the upcoming movies. Peter looked over to Tony whose eyes were squeezed shut and forehead was scrunched up in pain. He arched his back in the seat and shifted back and forth trying to find a position that hurt less.   
Peter looked away. He couldn’t bear to see the genius like this anymore. He just wanted him back to his usual snarky, upbeat self. 

He pushed these thoughts away and turned to the screen. 

Two hours passed and the end credits began to roll. Throughout the last couple hours, Tony had found two positions that offered relief of pressure and he had switched between them countless times. 

“Tony, the movie is over,” Peter nudged the man. 

Tony had his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms hugging his legs. His head was laid against his knees. It stretched out his back a bit and allowed him to take the pressure off of his neck.

“Okay, I need a second,” Tony whispered back. 

He lifted his head up and slowly brought his feet back to the ground. His chest was hurting. He needed to sleep. 

Peter reached out his hand to Tony who gratefully accepted the help back up to his feet. Nearly every joint in his upper body cracked and Peter winced at the noise. 

“It’s fine, Pete,” Tony laughed.

“That sounds horrible.”

“Yeah, you should hear when I get out of bed in the morning,” Tony challenged. 

Peter remembered the one time he was at the tower early in the morning to surprise Tony for his birthday. He was standing outside his room waiting for him to come out. He heard every joint in the man’s body pop and the groans from Tony in response. That was only a couple weeks prior; it made sense.   
Just then Peter got a text from Bruce asking where he and Tony were. He quickly informed him of their impromptu visit to the movies and that they were leaving soon. 

Back in the lab, Bruce smiled when he read the text. He was incredibly surprised that Peter got Tony out of the house today, especially because it was raining. It was a good sign; it meant that Tony was willing to resume life. 

Peter drove Tony back to the tower where Bruce was waiting for him. Tony let out a visible sigh. He didn’t want to start physical therapy today. He just wanted to sleep. 

Peter knew that Tony was tired and that he pushed himself pretty far to actually leave the tower to do something. That was the first time Tony had actually done anything in weeks. 

“Hey, Tony,” Bruce began, “I have your first appointment planned and all the exercises figured out. I’d like to begin today.” 

Tony looked out the window where the rain was pounding against the glass and black clouds consumed the sky. He turned back to Bruce. He had done more today than he had done in a long time; he deserved some rest.

“Bruce, I need to sleep,” Tony replied honestly, “It’s been a long day.” 

Looking to the clock that read 2:00 pm, Bruce shook his head. 

“Tony, it’s only 2:00.” 

“It’s raining outside. I actually left the house today. My back hurts. My shoulders hurt. My damn chest hurts. All I want is sleep. I deserve that.” 

Tony was tired of being pushed around. 

With that, Tony blew past Bruce and went up the stairs and into his room. He fell asleep in a matter of minutes.


	9. Chapter 9

Bruce was shocked. He hadn’t seen Tony that upset for a while. He didn’t mean to overstep. He should have realized that Tony was tired.

Peter was still standing there in shock. He hadn’t seen Tony be that blunt since he admitted to his pain. He should have warned Bruce that Tony was already overextended from their adventure. 

“I guess we should let him rest,” Bruce said quietly. 

“Yeah, he was pretty miserable at the movie,” Peter tried to explain, “He was uncomfortable in the seats.” 

“I’m going to go down to my lab for a while. Let me know when he gets up,” Bruce announced. 

“Okay. I’ll be around the tower,” Peter replied. 

Bruce turned and headed to the elevator. He pushed the corresponding button and the elevator took him down to his lab. Looking around at the hundreds of files he had been pouring over, he sighed. He put so much into Tony’s rehab plan. All he wanted was for Tony to feel better.

Every time he saw Tony, he looked worse. His eyes a little sadder, his posture a little more slouched, his attention a little less focused. But today, he saw Tony dressed in clean clothes. He saw Tony doing something he liked to do with one of his favorite people. Bruce took it as a sign that he was ready to start rehab, that he wanted to get better. 

Bruce learned that you can’t push Tony Stark further than he wants to be pushed. Bruce learned that you have to start small. 

Seeing Tony self-destruct was killing Bruce. The two had always been good friends. They always hung out in the lab together, but that hadn’t happened in weeks. Tony never felt good enough to sit still in an uncomfortable chair down in Bruce’s lab. 

Bruce knew Tony was depressed. It was easy to see. He was always locking himself away in his bedroom and pushing others out. Then again, Bruce suspected that Tony had been depressed for a long time. In the past, he abused alcohol and indulged in countless other dangerous aspects of life. All he wanted was for Tony to see there was a way out. Someone with a mind that was already damaged who was then faced with chronic pain was bound to destruct. Bruce had to help him out of the hole he was digging himself into. 

He couldn’t risk Tony leaving during his first appointment; he had to be careful. He wished he knew more about Tony’s pain. Not data or x-rays, but the emotional toll it took on him. He knew he slept a lot, he knew his mannerisms when the pain got bad, and he even knew what activities Tony avoided on a daily basis, but he didn’t know what he was thinking. He didn’t know how strong Tony was mentally at this point. Tony was broken. 

“Hey Jarvis, can you please call Pepper,” Bruce called out. He knew this was a bad idea. She and Tony hadn’t talked for over a month, not since the breakup. 

“Certainly Dr. Banner,” Jarvis replied. 

Bruce heard the ringing through the room's speakers. It seemed like hours before he heard the familiar voice.

“Tony?” Pepper’s voice echoed through the lab.

“Uh… Hey Pepper… It’s Bruce,” he called back. 

“Oh… I uh… thought… nevermind. Can I help you?” She was obviously disappointed to hear Bruce’s voice instead of Tony’s. 

“Are you free today?” Bruce immediately regretted his choice of words, “to talk about Tony,” he quickly added. 

There was a long and painful pause. 

“I uh… have something to do… uh today,” she mumbled, “What is this about?”

“Tony is,” he paused, unsure of what to say, “Tony is struggling.”

“Maybe he should have thought about that before he--”

“No, Pepper,” he sighed, “He stopped going to physical therapy.” 

“Oh,” he could hear her take a deep breath, “So why call me?”

Bruce was conflicted. He could completely lose Tony’s trust if he told Pepper what was really going on. He decided it was for the best if he came clean.

“He has chronic pain, Pepper.” 

“I know. That’s why he went to therapy,” she seemed confused.

“He stopped going,” Bruce felt like he was talking in circles, “He can’t handle the pain anymore. Pepper, he hasn’t left the house in weeks.” He thought it would be best to leave out his trip to the movies with Peter. 

She didn’t say anything in reply. Instead, she started crying. Bruce could hear her sobs through the phone. 

“Pepper, it isn’t your fault,” Bruce reasoned. 

“It is my fault. You don’t understand,” she choked out, “he hated it.” 

“I know, Pepper. He told me that they pushed him too far,” Bruce’s heart broke at the sound of her cries. 

“But he still went. He went cause…cause I held his hand,” she cried, “I helped him through it.”

Bruce didn’t know what to say.

“I abandoned him when he needed me,” she admitted.

“No, Pepper. It was his decision. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Bruce tried to calm her down. 

“I shouldn’t have let him end our relationship. I should have fought harder. I didn’t want to leave him.”

She stopped talking. Bruce felt tears run down his face. He usually didn’t get emotional, but with the issue being so close to him, he felt Pepper’s pain. 

“Can you come to the tower?” Bruce wanted this crying session to end. He hated getting emotional. It reminded him of his own low points in life. 

“Sure… I guess… I can,” she eventually got out. 

“Good,” Bruce smiled, “Hurry.”

The line clicked and Pepper was gone. Bruce was never one for emotional conversations. That was one of the hardest things he had ever done.   
He walked into the nearby bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. The tears were dried on his face, and his eyes were red. He hated this situation.   
Taking a washcloth, he rubbed his face clear of the remaining tears. 

Why did Tony let Pepper go in the first place? Bruce just wanted to know. Maybe he could help Tony if he knew, but it was none of his business. 

He returned back to his lab and sat on the couch. He turned on the TV to Food Network and sat there for hours. He hadn’t done this in months, but he just needed a break from reality. 

“Dr. Banner, Ms. Potts has just arrived,” Jarvis informed. 

Bruce jumped at the voice. A talking house was not something he was ever prepared for. 

“Okay, thank you. Please tell her I will be up in a minute.” 

Bruce jumped in the elevator and rode it all to the main floor. There, Pepper was waiting for him at the bar in the kitchen. She was talking to Peter. The two seemed deeply invested in the conversation. Bruce stopped around the corner to hear the conversation. 

“Mr. Stark actually went to the movies today!” Peter sounded excited. 

“Wow, good job Peter,” she paused, “Where is he now?” 

“He is sleeping upstairs,” Peter’s voice dimmed. 

“I hear he does that a lot,” she seemed sad. 

“Yeah, he doesn’t do a lot anymore,” Peter joined in on the dim tone. 

Bruce didn’t want to hear the conversation anymore, so he hit his shoe hard against the floor to warn them of his arrival without them knowing that he had been listening in. Both Peter and Pepper turned to Bruce. 

Pepper got up from the barstool to hug Bruce. 

“I heard that you are going to help Tony get back on his feet,” Pepper smiled. 

“Yeah, I’m trying,” he paused, “Can I talk to you, alone?”

Peter got the hint and got up from his chair. He ran upstairs and into Tony’s room. It was already 7:00 pm. Tony should probably get up. 

Bruce smiled. He was glad that Peter understood; it would be much easier to talk to Pepper one on one. When he was sure Peter was out of earshot, he started.

“Pepper, I can’t get him to start therapy.” 

“He is kinda stubborn,” she smiled. 

“I think… he might…” he mumbled, “I think he needs you.” Bruce couldn’t believe he said that out loud, although they both knew it was true. 

“I know.” 

“You know?” 

“Tony called me after we finished talking on the phone earlier,” she said quietly, “I’m uh… well… I’m actually moving back in.” 

Bruce smiled. He was overjoyed. He knew that Tony would come around. 

“What did he say? If you don’t mind me asking,” Bruce questioned carefully.

“He told the truth. He said that he couldn’t live the way he is anymore.” 

“So, you are together again?” Bruce thought he might be overstepping. 

“Well, yeah,” she smiled, “We talked through some things. We decided it was for the best.”

“I think you are going to save his life.” Bruce felt hopeful. 

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Last chapter coming this week! Lmk other ideas you want to see in coming fics!


	10. Chapter 10

“Tony… wake up.” Peter shook the man slightly, being careful not to hurt him. 

“Go away,” Tony grunted. 

“Tony, it’s me, Peter.”

Tony rolled over to look at the boy. He wasn’t feeling good at all. The emotional phone call he had with Pepper a couple of hours ago left him drained. 

He was completely ecstatic that Pepper was coming back, but he had to pour his heart out to convince her. He knew that Bruce had called and practically begged her to come back on his behalf. (Jarvis was good at eavesdropping on conversations.) He knew that he should be the one to ask for forgiveness. He needed her back. 

Tony knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. He couldn’t live the way he was. The constant aches and pains. The constant self-hatred. He couldn’t do it anymore. He was suicidal. He was depressed. He knew the only way he was going to live was if she came back to help him through rehabilitation. He was weak, but he knew he could be strong again. 

“Hey Pete,” Tony groaned. 

“Uh… Pepper is downstairs… if you want to go talk,” Peter mumbled.

Tony nodded, “Thanks.”

Peter nodded and went back downstairs. Deciding it was for the best if he left the adults alone to talk, he went into the living room and turned on a movie.   
Upstairs, Tony sat up in his bed and felt the familiar ache fill his chest and back. He slid his feet off the bed and stood up slowly. Throwing on an old hoodie and running his hand through his hair, he decided he looked presentable, so he began his descent down to the kitchen.

Bruce was the first one to notice Tony get off the elevator and begin walking towards Pepper and himself. He gestured to Pepper to inform her of Tony’s arrival despite his disheveled appearance.

“Tony,” she called. 

She eyed him up and down when he stopped in the doorway. She could see the evidence of his exhaustion and pain written all over his face and body. She noticed his eyes were surrounded by dark bags, his hands were a bit shaky, his shoulders were hunched, his back a bit arched, but most of all she saw the man that she loved. 

Running over to him, she threw her arms around his torso and laid her head on his shoulder.

“Ow, careful,” he winced as she pressed on the reactor. 

She immediately recoiled, “I’m sorry.”

She took a step back and stared into his eyes. He stared back. They stood like that for a long time as if trying to decide what to say.

“I love you,” he whispered. His eyes were welling up with tears.

“I love you too,” she returned. “Let’s go talk somewhere.”

Tony nodded and turned. He led her down to his lab where they sat on the couch. Through the entire trip down to the lab, Pepper noticed each time he winced and ruffled his forehead in pain. He was much worse than she thought. She prayed that she wasn’t too late. 

“So… Bruce told me that you didn’t want to start therapy,” she began.

“That’s not a fair statement,” he replied.

“Explain.”

“It was raining and Peter and I had already gone out to see a movie. I was really tired,” he tried to explain, “I can’t… I’m not that strong.”

She paused. She had never heard him admit to weakness before. It was like his father had brainwashed him into thinking that weakness was a sin. Her heart broke at his explanation, and at the same time, she was angry at Bruce for trying to push Tony that far in one day.

“Okay,” she began, “That is very reasonable.” 

Tony didn’t reply. He couldn’t meet her eyes. He felt exposed, he felt weak, he felt hurt. 

“It’s going to be okay,” she assured him, “I’m going to do this with you.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, okay,” Tony replied, “Can we start tomorrow?” 

“We sure can,” she smiled.

For the first time in a very long time, Tony felt that there was a way out. He felt there was a future for him. 

He smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the conclusion of this fic! Sorry that it is super short, but I wanted to leave room for the imagination of the reader! Thank you for reading and please comment if you enjoyed or if you have ideas for a future fic!


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